WYSIWYG : The FCKeditor proposal

We are starting now the development of V3, the next generation of FCKeditor:

http://docs.fckeditor.net/FCKeditor_3.x/Design_and_Architecture

It is to be rewritten and optimized, including several new features. It will be definitely out of comparison with our current solution. Performance and code size is definitely at the top of the list for us.

One thing that we are considering for V3, is involving several important external projects during its development since its early stages. We are in touch with the development groups of software like phpBB and MediaWiki. Drupal is definitely to be included as part of it.

The basic idea is developing an editor which would fit Drupal expectations and needs in all aspects.

The current support for WYSIWYG on Drupal, and the developments that are starting for it to D7, are leaving one important factor out of it: the editor itself. So, while Drupal will have some nice control over the environment that uses RTEs, there will be almost zero control on the editor. As a result, we'll continue having several different RTE modules, bringing troubles to the installation and setup process, each one offering different results, and different issues. The community will continue confuse and frustrated, and Drupal developers will be still unsure about the effective quality of their WYSIWYG support.

Our proposal is putting the RTE development under Drupal's control, making it possible to offer a single complete solution. A standard module could be developed at this point (probably the WYSIWYG module), providing a standard editor as part of it. Other modules could then easily attach to that module to extend the standard editor through well known hooks, or even replace the standard editor with other editors, if necessary for some reason.

Now, making this thing a reality should not be responsibility for our team only. Even if we have some good knowledge about Drupal (we use it for our sites and we have taken the maintenance of the FCKeditor module), we don't have the in-depth knowledge about the Drupal devs vision, and the feeling about the real community needs. And here we have the essence of this post: we are looking for collaborating.

Two development groups would be working on it:

• Drupal devs in the Drupal side, working on the module and capturing the community needs.
• FCKeditor devs, working on the editor, based in the Drupal dev group specifications.

We are ready to open a dedicated communication channel between our teams, so the editor development can be really driven by Drupal devs, leaving the editor "experts" to code it. In this way we can guarantee that V3 will completely satisfy Drupal's needs, and D7 will definitely provide a perfect WYSIWYG solution, in the Drupal devs point of view.

Does all that make sense?

I would love to hear your thoughts about it. The above is just a brainstorming. Nothing on that is to be static, so suggestions are refinements in this proposal are definitely welcome.